Capt. Henrik Chase, Tacoma Army Recruiting Company commander, pours celery into a vat of chicken in the kitchen of The Rescue Mission's Adams Street Campus December 31. Chase joined recruiters from Tacoma Mall Army Career Center who devoted part of t...

Sgt. 1st Class Jesse Santos, Tacoma Mall Army Career Center assistant center leader, and Sgt. Maurice Jones, recruiter, pour rice into a container in the kitchen of The Rescue Mission's Adams Street Campus December 31. This is the second time these r...

SEATTLE ARMY RECRUITING BATTALION, Wash. -- As the cooker opens, steam discharges into the air filling the kitchen with the smell of chicken broth. The smell lingers and mixes with the sounds of kitchen prep: a serving-spoon clanging noisily against a pot full of chopped-carrots, a knife slicing through a green-pepper on a cutting board, and the murmur of the kitchen workers chatting while going about their tasks.

A portion of the kitchen staff at the Rescue Mission in Tacoma, Wash. are recruiters from the Tacoma Mall Army Career Center, part of the Seattle Army Recruiting Battalion. These Soldiers took a few hours out of their day to serve lunch to the mission's clients December 31.

This is the second time that Sgt. 1st Class Jesse Santos, assistant center leader, and the Tacoma Mall recruiters have done this in the past two months.

We wanted to give back to our local community, said Santos. I get self-satisfaction out of helping out those in need, he added.

The Rescue Mission's Adams Street Campus is a facility that offers shelter and food for families and single women in the Tacoma area.

"It's huge having them here," said Frank Jackson, the Rescue Mission's Adams Street Campus Program Services Division director, about the Soldiers. We appreciate the way the Soldiers are always willing to get the job done, whether that's cleaning or heavy lifting, he said.

The Tacoma Mall recruiters also served the mission's patrons before Thanksgiving.

"Both times have been great," said Sgt. Joshua Way, Tacoma Mall recruiter. I believe this also helps us as recruiters, Way said. "If someone comes into our office and we're not able to help them, you can refer them if they're down on their luck."

Capt. Henrik Chase, Tacoma Army Recruiting Company commander, helped prepare food and clean during the recruiter's second visit December 31.

"These non-commissioned officers are outstanding," said Chase. "These guys took it upon themselves; they had their own initiative setting this up," he said. "Helping those who are helping themselves is beautiful and I think that's all about the Army values."

In all, eight Soldiers participated: Capt. Henrik Chase, Sgts. 1st Class Jesse Santos and Andrew Murdock, Staff Sgts. Terry Gadsden and James Dozier and Sgts. Maurice Jones, Charlynn Bueche and Joshua Way.